IRLF SB 15 GIFT OF Aiv A Talk on Teaching For Field Artillery Instructors BY RAYMOND WALTERS Captain, A. G. D., U. S. A. Registrar, F. A. C. O. T. S. Delivered during October, 1918 Before the Instructors of the Field Artillery Central Officers Training School CAMP ZACHARY TAYLOR, KY. (Re-printed from the Instruction Memoranda of the F. A. C. O. T. S. by permission of the Commandant) Headquarters Field Artillery Central Officers Training School, Camp Zachary Taylor, Ky. Instruction Memorandum No. 1-D. Subject: A TALK ON TEACHING by RAYMOND WALTERS Captain, A. G. D., U. S. A. Registrar, F. A. C. O. T. S. Delivered During October, 1918, Before the Instructors of the School by Departments. I congratulate you gentlemen upon your opportunity to be instructors in this School. This is not a jocose remark. I am acquainted with the view-point of those who say that they came into the Army to fight, not to teach school. The new arrange- ment by which a certain turn-over of the instructors here who do good work will go over- seas will meet even that objection. My congratulations are not based on the fact that you have the honor of connec- tion with the largest school in the world. Size isn't important merely as size. But I congratulate you because you have here an exceptional chance to serve. To teach the men who will command and who will in turn teach the great selective draft army of the United States in a vital branch of waif are against the Hun what greater or more impor- tant work than this ! We need to stress this conception of the dignity and importance of the Instructor. Let me say, as one who has had some acquaintance with colleges and schools, that I regard this as one of the most remarkable institutions of learning in this country. It was my privilege to be present here at Camp Taylor last June just before the School was started, in the days when Colonel Carter was planning the course. In a special degree, therefore, I appreciate the difficulties he faced and solved, assisted by a few co- workers. This School has, I believe, absolutely established General Snow's theory of the value of standardization; and Colonel Carter's working out of that theory will have value both for war and peace. Army organization will profit by what has been done here. I am confident, also, that general education may here learn many a lesson of suggestive force and practical application. So much by way of introduction. And now for the period that the Senior Instructor, Colonel Arnold, has asked me to give to hints on teaching. I. THE INTELLECTUAL EQUIPMENT OF THE INSTRUCTOR. (A) Sound knowledge of his subject. Underscore that on the outlines that have been distributed. We in America tend toward a showy glibness. We want to be broad. We succeed and become shallow. Mastery is the goal every soldier must set before himself. We must despise and teach our students to despise superficial knowledge, sloppy execution, "bluffing" and "pass- ingthebuck '" 388357 Page 2 A Talk- qn.Tea^chfng : ' ^ .* Worfc as an instructor in this School will help toward mastery. Every time you go over a Field Artillery subject with a class, thinking about it, doing and demon- strating, you strengthen the nerve connections in your brain in respect to that subject. Not until you are automatically perfect in execution and are at the same time a resourceful, ready, and self-reliant thinker have you gained mastery in the Field Artillery. None of us, conscious of our shortcomings, need be discouraged by what I have just said. To be a good teacher one need not be a specialist or an authority in Field Artillery. That is a requirement for instructors at the post-graduate school, Fort Sill. But in this "college" work, excellent teaching may be done (as we may corroborate by reflecting upon our own college days) by young men who have a good command of their subject and who, because of their nearness in years to their students, have a vivid appre- ciation of the difficulties and view-point of students. (B) A sympathetic attitude. Robert Louis Stevenson somewhere said of the Writer that the one tool in his kit is sympathy. This is even more true of the Teacher. To be a real instructor means first of all to be a human being. Colonel Carter sets the tone when he admonishes officers reporting here for the first time to be "firm, just and kind." A large number of students with whom I have talked have assured me that sarcasm and ridicule are rare in this School. This is as it should be. But we do not want what Emerson called the "mush of concession" or Sheridan's "pineapples of politeness." This is a school of soldiers. Direct action and direct speech are imperative. It is a fact that candidates have a contempt for an "easy" teacher or one who courts popularity. They will take and relish severe reproof if it is merited and delivered impersonally. (C) Knowing how to teach. A third and indispensable qualification of the instructor is that he shall know how to teach. Once in a while, over in the Observation Area, we find a rookie who thinks instruction in drill regulations is beneath his dignity. Once in a while we find an instructor who regards a formal study of how to teach as "all poppy-cock." Alas for both of them . II. TEACHING METHODS. The aim of this talk is to outline methods of teaching and to give suggestions applicable to this School. They are collected from sources that are authoritative in the educational world. No one should feel cramped by following definite principles, because "while they check one's freedom along foolish lines, (they) guide effort into channels of efficiency." We have it upon the word of that great psychologist, philosopher, and teacher, the late William James of Harvard, that the science of psychology as applied to general pedagogics "is much like the science of war." "Nothing is simpler or more definite than the principles of either. In war, all you have to do is to work your enemy into a position from whjch the natural obstacles prevent him from escaping if he tries to; then to fall on him in numbers superior to his own, at a moment when you have led him to think you are far away; and so, with a mini- mum of exposure of your own troops, to hack his forces to pieces and take the remainder prisoners. Just so, in teaching, you must simply work your pupil into such a state of interest in what you are going to teach him that every other ob- ject of attention is banished from his mind; then reveal it to him so impressively that he will remember the occasion to his dying day; and finally fill him with devouring curiosity to know what the next steps in connection with the subject are. The princi- ples being so plain, there would be nothing but victories for the masters of science, either on the battlefield or in the school room, if they did not both have to make their application to an incalculable quantity in the shape of the mind of their opponent. The A Talk on Teaching Page 3 mind of your own enemy, the pupil, is working away from you as keenly and eagerly as is the mind of the commander on the other side from the scientific general. Just what the respective enemies want and think, and just what they know and do not know are as hard for the teacher as for the general to find out. Divination and perception, not psychological pedagogics or theoretic strategy, are the only helpers here." (A) How can an instructor arouse the interest of his candidates? We in this School, have a great advantage. College students are largely sent to college. Our students come here, mostly mature men who have made sacrifices to do so and who are in grim earnest. The usual artificial means of stimulating interest are less necessary here. But they are not entirely unnecessary. Witness the slump that attended the recent peace talk and that again impends; or the sagging of interest in subjects stu- dents judge less vital for the Field Artillery. Professor James pointed out that to attract interest we must find what ideas are already in the minds of our pupils and then "Associate the new with the old in some natural and telling way, so that the interest, being shed along from point to point, finally suffuses the entire system of objects of thought." Certain that every candidate knows baseball you can refer to the spirit of obey- ing a hit and run signal with a man on base and apply it to the necessity of subordinating the individual to the battery in military discipline. To cite an article in the current "Field Artillery Journal" or an Associated Press dispatch of yesterday relating to the Field Artillery in France is another way to enlist attention. Some minds are naturally fertile in producing illustrations, as the Autocrat of the Breakfast Table once pointed out. It is because of this fertility that their lucky pos- sessors are interesting talkers and teachers. But all of us, by a deliberate effort, may progress in this direction. To search for similes, to inquire as to what our pupils are thinking about (reading their newspaper, "The Probable Error" will help) and to relate our material to their intellectual back- ground all this means work. But the results are worth it. A valuable way to gain attention is to point out how simple a subject is. Both as an instance of this and as an example of clear statement, observe the paragraph in the Instruction Memorandum No. 1-C, beginning: "Field Artillery has two things to do; first, to get there; second, to shoot." It is a mistake, however, to try to make things appear easy when they are not easy. It is better frankly to say: "Now the lesson for tomorrow on computation of firing data is hard. You'll have to put your best into getting it." There is a challenge in a difficult task that appeals. Football is hard and grueling; which explains why "he-boys" prefer it to croquet. There is a besetting tendency on the part of teachers today to do work that the pupil ought to do. Avoid this. "The practical problem of the i/eache^ is to preserve a balance between so little showing and telling as to fail to stimulate reflection and so much as to choke thought." (Prof. John Dewey.) (B) How to hold attention. To attract attention is easier than to hold it. You can get the attention of a class by telling a funny story or by jumping around like Billy Sunday. But circus methods, beside being alien to the spirit of the service, don't pay, because they don't wear well. The first step toward holding attention is to have the candidates sit in an atten- tive but not rigid physical attitude. Variety helps. Consciousness is a moving stream. Try to watch a single object for three minutes, and see how attention flags. To retain interest you must turn your subject over and over, causing the class to look at it from different angles. Page 4 A Talk on Teaching Variation in speed is efficacious. Give emphasis to your main topics by stating them deliberately. Change your vocal tone as well as your tempo. (C) Questions. Questions and answers are preferable to the lecture system, so far as this vSchool is concerned. There are two sides to this subject; the questions you ask and the ques- tions the candidates ask. A good question is one stated clearly in a sufficiently loud tone and with distinct enunciation. In out-of-door classes, these elements of tone and enunciation are more than ordinarily important. The following rules, adapted from Prof. W. C. Bagley's "Class Room Manage- ment," are worthy of study: 1. Ask the question first, then wait a short time before calling upon an indi- vidual for the answer. 2. Avoid calling on the candidates in regular order. 3. Occasionally interrupt and ask another to continue the discussion. 4. Commend good work; discourage sloppy answers. 5. Don't help the candidate in reciting. "When questions are answered on the instant, the chances are against their being the result of much thinking." The foregoing statement, from "The Question as a Factor in Teaching" by J. W. and A. C. K. Hall, is pertinent. It must be remembered, however, that a brain which thinks quickly as well as accurately is demanded in the Field Artillery. So don't wait too long for an answer. Now as to the questions of the candidates in class. They may be divided into three groups: (1) foolish questions; (2) unnecessary questions; and (3) desirable ques- tions. A word about each. Foolish Questions All of us have asked such. All of us, at college, have tried, when not prepared on a lesson, to get the professor started on a line of talk that would waste time and save us from the wrath to come. Be on your guard against that here. Watch also for the ingratiating, self-advertising candidate who asks questions for the sake of asking. Unnecessary Questions are those that are either too easy or too hard in a tech- nical way. When a candidate starts to ask questions on some elementary point that may perplex him, but which all others in the class manifestly understand, tell the asker of the too-easy question that you will be glad to explain the point out of class. A peculiar sort of unnecessary question often arises in this school. The class frequently includes men experienced in technical fields, who know considerably more than the instructor does about the manufacture of caissons, or the action of fuzes, or the diseases of horses. Then the expert candidate is prone to ask technical questions that are embarrassing or that carry the discussion into unnecessary ramifications. The one safe rule for such cases is to apply this test: Is the question essential for the mastery of this lesson? If it is, discuss it, calling upon the candidate expert to assist in the ex- position. If the question is not essential, announce "The point raised is not really per- tinent to our study." Then proceed with the lesson. (D) Answers. We have considered what a good question is. What is a good answer? A good answer must first of all be correct grammatically. Be stern in banning the prevalent "It's when" construction, illustrated as follows: "What is the angle of de- parture?" "It's when the angle is between the plane, etc." A simple declarative sen- tence is the safest form for the average candidate. A Talk on Teaching Page 5 Don't permit students to reply in vocal short-hand. Require that the answer shall be a unit which may be understood, irrespective of the question; for example: Question. "What is the angle of departure?" Answer. "The angle of departure is the angle between the plane of site and the line of departure." (B) Akin to the subject of the answer is the subject of the definition. Science is systematic endeavor toward definition. It explores and charts the unknown, its con- stant aim being to attain a verifiable definition of the laws of the universe. In the every- day world the practice of clear definition is valuable. We are all familiar with persons who have a "general idea" of what the "thing" is. What a relief to meet a man who knows and who can express what he knows! Impress upon your students that in the Army, and particularly in the Field Artillery, the habit of concise and accurate state- ment is indispensable. How can we teach candidates here to attain it? We can't teach it in twelve weeks. Assuming a continuance of candidates of the same intellectual calibre we have had (which has been high) the following suggestions may be useful: Dwell upon the necessity of good speech, presenting it as a goal always to be held before a soldier. Make it plain that you mean not ornate or elaborate style, but sim- ple, straightforward expression. Be a living example yourself. Your student will imitate you; the psychological law of imitation will take care of that. Encourage memorizing definitions in the text book but do not insist upon this. Guard against parrot reproduction of text book definitions by searching questions as to what the words mean and by calling for illustrations. "Distrust the repetition of words as a test of anything more than a verbal memory." (Thorndike). (E) Planning a recitation. 1. The principle of good teaching is the same as that of a good army: Organ- ization. The basis of success in both is plan. A candidate has a legitimate cause for complaint when he faces an examination and finds questions on ground that was not covered in class. The examinations sent out from the Senior instructor's Office, uniform to all sections, embrace subjects in the Instruction Memoranda, and no others. Talks I have had with numerous instructors and candidates have convinced me that these assignments are well ordered and propor- tioned; that they constitute a "do-able" job for the time and conditions. These assign- ments represent planning. To fulfill them demands planning also. 2. How plan? Here are some hints. (a) Plan your management of the class on the night preceding the recitation. Resolve that nothing shall divert you from covering the assignment in the Instruction Memoranda. (b) Consider two factors in regard to the lesson: Subject matter and method of presenting. (c) Determine major topics and the minor topics of the subject matter and assign to each a certain portion of the recitation hour. (d) Meditate on how you can arouse the interest of that particular class in that particular subject. (e) Prepare for a review, at the beginning of the recitation, in which you will briefly summarize (or have some candidate summarize) what was covered in the preceding lesson. (f) Prepare for a few minutes at the end of the hour in which to announce the next lesson, pointing out its major topics. (g) Write out an outline of your recitation. Such a written plan will guide you in class. Kept for reference, it will save you trouble when you take another class over the course. But revise your plan, in the light of experience. Page 6 A Talk on Teaching (F) Conducting a recitation. The suggestions I have given as to planning a recitation cover in large measure the conduct of the recitation. 1. Devote three to five minutes at the outset to a summary of the preceding les- son. This is particularly needed in this School, where some members of the class may have been absent from the preceding recitation on guard or K. P. or other special duty. The opening review will strengthen the mental connections formed in the earlier lesson and will demonstrate the continuity of the subject. Let the instructor who protests that he hasn't time for this consider whether he doesn't permit more time to be lost daily by useless questions and profitless discussion. 2. Announce your topics as you take them up. Candidates like to know that there is a plan. Don't be afraid to show the bones of your recitation skeleton. 3. Follow faithfully your time arrangement of your lesson. So many minutes for this topic, so many minutes for that. Instead of cramping you, this time schedule will liberate you. It will avoid that frenzied rush toward the close of the hour to catch up for dawdling over non-essentials. 4. Devote a few minutes at the end of the period to an intelligent assignment of the next lesson. You can render legitimate help by pointing out that such and such paragraphs, D. & S. R. F. A., deserve special attention. 6. Conduct each recitation as though it is the most vital and interesting subject in the world. Please don't be blase. A bored instructor will have a bored classj and you can make a truthful pun out of that by spelling the last "Bored," B-o-a-r-d. 6. An energetic manner, a crisp enunciation and enthusiasm these qualities in an instructor will keep any class awake. Only don't overdo the thing. Keep up the check-rein of reserve. III. GENERAL EDUCATIONAL TRUTHS. I want, before closing, to present to you several educational truths that every teacher should make part of himself. (A) The laws of habit. In his classic chapter on habit, William James said: "The teacher's prime concern should be to ingrain in the pupil that assortment of habits that shall be most useful to him throughout life. Education is for behavior, and habits are the stuff of which behavior consists." The laws of habit, which this great thinker enunciated, may be adapted with reference to our situation here as follows: 1. We must cause our candidates to make automatic and habitual, as early as possible, actions that make the good Field Artillery officer. 2. We must launch them with as strong and decided an initiative as possible to- ward new military habits and the breaking off of un-military habits. 3. Never suffer an exception to occur till the new habit is securely rooted in their lives. Continuity of training is the great means of making the nervous system act in- fallibly right. The next three maxims I propose we shall apply to ourselves. 4. Seize the very first possible opportunity to act on every resolution you make, and on every emotional prompting you may experience in the direction of the habits you aspire to gain. Not until you begin to apply the principles of teaching we have consid- ered will they be of value. 5. Don't preach too much to your candidates or abound in good talk in the abstract. (B) The law of improvement. We are all seeking to improve ourselves as officers and as instructors. We prac- tice faithfully, with confidence in the old maxim that practice makes perfect. But A Talk on Teaching Page 7 practice in itself does not make perfect. To go through the gun squad drill poorly a hundred times simply ingrains the habit of poor execution. Likewise with a listless computation of firing data. To perform any act at less that our best brings no improve- ment. The law of progress is thus stated by the eminent psychologist, Dr. B. L. Thorn- dike of Columbia University: "Improvement comes through intense, earnest effort and the elimination of mistakes." Study that statement. Heed it. And, finally, ponder upon the further words of Dr. Thorndike: "Every thought and act of life count ** We build the lad derby which we climb. Nothing happens by chance * * He that is faithful in a little is given authority over ten cities." That you who are faithful in your teaching here may be given authority over "ten cities" of a battery command in France is my closing hope and prediction for you. Prepared and published by direction of The Chief of Field Artillery. By Order of Colonel Carter, John C. Wyeth, Major, F. A. U. S. A. Adjutant. Gay lord Bros. Makers Syracuse, N. Y. PAT. JAN. 21, 1908 388357 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY